Favoritism
Favoritism
is favoring a person not because he or she is doing the best job
but rather because of some extraneous feature-membership in a favored group,
personal likes and dislikes, etc. Cronyism
is a more specific form of favoritism, referring to partiality towards friends
and associates. Nepotism is an even
narrower form of favoritism.
It’s
no secret that the playing field among workers isn’t level in most workplaces. This widespread practice of favoritism can
have a significant impact. Favoritism in
the workplace is a lot more toxic. Favoritism
can be fairly benign at first, and it can be much more serious and develop into
a hostile environment.
According
to Mark Payleitner, a business career program instructor at Computer Systems Institute,
favoritism is human nature. The difference
can be seen when a boss assigns a critical, high-profile project to one
individual, the boss hope that he has selected the best person for the job. But when the boss gives a friend ‘the office’
with the best view based on no other criteria, that crosses into favoritism.
It’s
important to distinguish favoritism from performance recognition. There are many negative consequences. A sense of resentment can de-motivate and
damage team unity when a manager does not treating everyone equally. It’s easy to overlook growth opportunities
and unique skill sets offered by others when attention is focused on a
particular employee.
Unearned
favoritism can “leads to the unselected believing that others’ efforts will not
be recognized fairly; and that the yardstick for success has nothing to do with
performance.
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Tips if you’re the favored employee
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Have a conversation with
your boss or with HR to figure out how to correct the situation
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Act sooner, share some of
the work and glory, make your work life a lot
more palatable overall
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Whenever possible, share
the lime-light
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Keep it professional, have their cooperation or trust as you will need each other to succeed
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Remain trustworthy
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it is important that you
understand why you are selected
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Ways to navigate through
workplace favoritism when you’re the victim
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Figure out if you’re
really a victim
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Do not discuss the
favoritism, but ask for opportunities, and offer to help, instead
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Continue working hard. Be
professional and do your part to show you care about the team, company, and
clients
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Try and understand the
reason for the special attention
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As difficult as it might
be, maintain a normal professional relationship with the favored worker
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Remain positive and proactive
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If the favorite is truly
undeserving, be patient; the boss will eventually realize that it is in their
own best interest to look around for a new go-to person
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Meet more regularly, and
ask your boss if there are issues regarding your perceived ability to take on
new assignments
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Consequences of Favoritism
Most
discrimination is caused by ordinary favoritism. In-group favoritism happens at all ages and
in different situations. It is
societally important to understand that discrimination can occur without
hostility and without any intent to discriminate. Even though discrimination has decrease, favoritism
is still a prominent issue in the workplace.
Many said they believe their own supervisor practices favoritism.
The
Merit System Principles (MSPs) provide guidance to federal managers on how to
create a fair workplace free of Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPPs). MSPs do not specifically define favoritism,
but they give examples such as
·
asking a human resources staff members to hire a friend into
a position for which the person is unqualified, or
·
granting a career ladder promotion to a favorite employee but
not to a similar one who performed at the same level.
Favoritism
can appear subtly, and some supervisors may not even recognize what they are
doing. Favoritism can have dire
consequences for employees.
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Consequences of Favoritism
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sabotage interpersonal
dynamics within the organization
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reduced respect for their
supervisors
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strained relations between
colleagues, even resulting in resentment toward the recipient of favoritism
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harmed an agency's overall
performance
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Reduced work satisfaction
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Reduced camaraderie
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Increase employees leaving
organization
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Reduced motivation
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REFERENCES
1.
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/492/3530979/Favoritism-strains-workplace-morale-harms-agency-performance
- Favoritism
strains workplace morale, harms agency performance, By
Shefali Kapadia, Tuesday - 12/24/2013
2.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/10/26/how-to-deal-with-favoritism-in-the-office/
- How to Deal
With Favoritism in the Office, Jacquelyn Smith
3.
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/government_ethics/introduction/cronyism.html
- Favoritism, Cronyism, and Nepotism,
By Judy Nadler and Miriam Schulman
4.
http://www.washington.edu/news/2014/05/19/favoritism-not-hostility-causes-most-discrimination-says-uw-psychology-professor/
- Favoritism,
not hostility, causes most discrimination, says UW psychology professor, Doree
Armstrong, May 19, 2014
